On a warm Florida evening, Karen Gregory saw a familiar face at her door. What the beautiful young woman could not know was that she was staring into the eyes of her killer - a savage monster who would rape her, stab her to death, and leave her battered body on the floor outside the bedroom. Detectives frantically sifting through the evidence were tormented by one disturbing question after another....

5 out of 5 stars

Author won a Pulitzer for crime writing

By
Alexander S. Newberry
on
01-01-18

Charmer: A Ladies' Man and His Victims

By:
Jack Olsen

Narrated by:
Kevin Pierce

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
206

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
196

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
192

The author of Predator traces the story of George Russell, Jr., a bright, young, popular black man whose thirty-year psychological unraveling led to a shocking killing spree.

5 out of 5 stars

If you loved SON ~ Get THIS!!

By
Polly Poizendem
on
11-18-17

Son of a Grifter

The Twisted Tale of Sante and Kenny Kimes, the Most Notorious Con Artists in America: A Memoir by the Other Son

By:
Kent Walker,
Mark Schone

Narrated by:
John Glouchevitch

Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
95

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
94

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
93

In 1988 a troubled young man and his flamboyant mother were arrested for murdering a wealthy widow in her New York City mansion. Suddenly America was transfixed by a pair of real-life film noir characters. The media couldn't get enough of the twisted relationship between Sante Kimes and her 23-year-old son Kenny. But the most chilling story of all was never told - until now. Kent Walker, Sante's elder son, reveals how he survived 40 years of "the Dragon Lady's" very special brand of motherly love and still managed to get away.

5 out of 5 stars

CON PEOPLE AT THEIR WORST!

By
jaye
on
07-03-17

I Will Find You

Solving Killer Cases from My Life Fighting Crime

By:
Joe Kenda

Narrated by:
Joe Kenda

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
929

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
849

Story

5 out of 5 stars
847

Joe Kenda investigated 387 murder cases during his 23 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department and solved almost all of them. And he is ready to detail the cases that are too gruesome to air on television, cases that still haunt him, and the few cases where the killer got away. These cases are horrifyingly real, and the detail is so mesmerizing you won't be able to turn it off.

5 out of 5 stars

Typical Kenda! Veryv

By
Somewhat crazy dog lady
on
09-27-17

Never See Them Again

By:
M. William Phelps

Narrated by:
Keith Sellon-Wright

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
38

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
33

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
33

In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims, Tiffany Rowell and Rachael Koloroutis, were just 18 years old - popular and beloved. But when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood - until now.

5 out of 5 stars

Superb Coverage of Why 4 Youths were Heartlessly Murdered

By
Mary Burnight
on
01-15-18

Beautifully Cruel

By:
M. William Phelps

Narrated by:
Jonathan Yen

Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
53

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
48

Story

4 out of 5 stars
47

Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy-tale second marriage to a wealthy, handsome businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail - and even murder - to serve her own selfish ends. In 2001, police rushed to Tracey's home after a shooting left her vulnerable young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds - and a decades-long trail of extortion and fraud - said otherwise.

1 out of 5 stars

Really bad book

By
CJFLA
on
12-18-17

Unanswered Cries

A True Story of Friends, Neighbors, and Murder in a Small Town

By:
Thomas French

Narrated by:
Mikael Naramore

Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
207

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
188

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
186

On a warm Florida evening, Karen Gregory saw a familiar face at her door. What the beautiful young woman could not know was that she was staring into the eyes of her killer - a savage monster who would rape her, stab her to death, and leave her battered body on the floor outside the bedroom. Detectives frantically sifting through the evidence were tormented by one disturbing question after another....

5 out of 5 stars

Author won a Pulitzer for crime writing

By
Alexander S. Newberry
on
01-01-18

Charmer: A Ladies' Man and His Victims

By:
Jack Olsen

Narrated by:
Kevin Pierce

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
206

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
196

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
192

The author of Predator traces the story of George Russell, Jr., a bright, young, popular black man whose thirty-year psychological unraveling led to a shocking killing spree.

5 out of 5 stars

If you loved SON ~ Get THIS!!

By
Polly Poizendem
on
11-18-17

Son of a Grifter

The Twisted Tale of Sante and Kenny Kimes, the Most Notorious Con Artists in America: A Memoir by the Other Son

By:
Kent Walker,
Mark Schone

Narrated by:
John Glouchevitch

Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
95

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
94

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
93

In 1988 a troubled young man and his flamboyant mother were arrested for murdering a wealthy widow in her New York City mansion. Suddenly America was transfixed by a pair of real-life film noir characters. The media couldn't get enough of the twisted relationship between Sante Kimes and her 23-year-old son Kenny. But the most chilling story of all was never told - until now. Kent Walker, Sante's elder son, reveals how he survived 40 years of "the Dragon Lady's" very special brand of motherly love and still managed to get away.

5 out of 5 stars

CON PEOPLE AT THEIR WORST!

By
jaye
on
07-03-17

I Will Find You

Solving Killer Cases from My Life Fighting Crime

By:
Joe Kenda

Narrated by:
Joe Kenda

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Unabridged

Overall

5 out of 5 stars
929

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
849

Story

5 out of 5 stars
847

Joe Kenda investigated 387 murder cases during his 23 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department and solved almost all of them. And he is ready to detail the cases that are too gruesome to air on television, cases that still haunt him, and the few cases where the killer got away. These cases are horrifyingly real, and the detail is so mesmerizing you won't be able to turn it off.

5 out of 5 stars

Typical Kenda! Veryv

By
Somewhat crazy dog lady
on
09-27-17

Never See Them Again

By:
M. William Phelps

Narrated by:
Keith Sellon-Wright

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
38

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
33

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
33

In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims, Tiffany Rowell and Rachael Koloroutis, were just 18 years old - popular and beloved. But when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood - until now.

5 out of 5 stars

Superb Coverage of Why 4 Youths were Heartlessly Murdered

By
Mary Burnight
on
01-15-18

Beautifully Cruel

By:
M. William Phelps

Narrated by:
Jonathan Yen

Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
53

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
48

Story

4 out of 5 stars
47

Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy-tale second marriage to a wealthy, handsome businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail - and even murder - to serve her own selfish ends. In 2001, police rushed to Tracey's home after a shooting left her vulnerable young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds - and a decades-long trail of extortion and fraud - said otherwise.

1 out of 5 stars

Really bad book

By
CJFLA
on
12-18-17

Blood in the Snow

The True Story of a Stay-at-Home Dad, His High-Powered Wife, and the Jealousy That Drove Him to Murder

By:
Tom Henderson

Narrated by:
Paul Michael Garcia

Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
63

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
60

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
59

In Washington Township, Michigan, on Valentine's Day, 2007, Stephen Grant filed a missing persons report on his beloved wife, Tara. The stay-at-home father of two was beside himself with despair. Why would Tara abandon him and their family? Was she involved with another man? Stephen's frantic, emotional search for Tara made national headlines, and the case was featured on
Dateline among other television shows and news outlets. But key elements in Stephen's story still weren't adding up....

4 out of 5 stars

Good true crime writer

By
6catz
on
01-19-18

All-American Murder

The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers' Row

By:
James Patterson,
Alex Abramovich

Narrated by:
Peter Coleman

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
395

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
344

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
344

He was a college All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later a Super Bowl veteran. He was a star tight end on the league-dominant New England Patriots, who extended his contract for a record $40 million. Aaron Hernandez's every move as a professional athlete played out in the headlines, yet he led a secret life-one that ended in a maximum security prison. What drove him to go so wrong, so fast?

3 out of 5 stars

Sadly, I had to stop listening...

By
T. Migliaccio
on
01-25-18

Taken from Home

A Father, a Dark Secret, and a Brutal Murder

By:
Eric Francis

Narrated by:
Timothy Andrés Pabon

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
20

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
20

Story

4 out of 5 stars
20

Grand Junction, Colorado, 2001: When Michael Blagg's adoring wife, Jennifer, and his six year-old-daughter, Abby, disappeared from their home, Michael led the charge to find them, even going so far as to make a nationwide appeal on Good Morning America for information. But seven months later, investigators found Jennifer's remains in a Mesa County landfill, and things took a darker turn. While Michael, a respected prayer-group leader, played the part of grieving survivor, authorities became increasingly suspicious.

5 out of 5 stars

This was great!

By
leelee8888
on
12-11-17

Blood Will Tell

A Shocking True Story of Marriage, Murder, and Fatal Family Secrets

By:
Carlton Smith

Narrated by:
Donna Postel

Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
15

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
12

Story

4 out of 5 stars
12

For twenty years, Ken and Kristine Fitzhugh and their two sons had lived lives of comfortable middle-class normality. Then came the shocking news that Kristine Fitzhugh was dead, the victim of a terrible accident.... By the time the Palo Alto Police Department looked closer at the death of Kristine Fitzhugh, there could be only one conclusion. Someone had murdered Kristine in her own home, inflicting a series of horrific blows to the back of her head, and then cleaned up the mess to make it look like an accident.

4 out of 5 stars

good

By
jennifer
on
01-01-18

My Sister Milly

By:
Gemma Dowler

Narrated by:
Ruby Thomas

Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
77

Performance

5 out of 5 stars
68

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
67

Everyone thinks they know the story of Milly Dowler. Haunting headlines about the missing schoolgirl splashed across front pages. The family's worst fears realised when her body was found months later. The years of waiting for the truth, only to learn that the killer, known to the police, lived just yards from where Milly had vanished. The parents subjected to horrific psychological torture at a trial orchestrated by the murderer.

5 out of 5 stars

Shameful Investigation Added to This Family's Pain

By
Susan
on
11-14-17

Laci

Inside the Laci Peterson Murder

By:
Michael Fleeman

Narrated by:
Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
33

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
32

Story

4 out of 5 stars
32

Praying for a happy ending, friends and family stood by Laci's grieving husband Scott. Four months later, Laci's decomposed body was found in the murky waters of San Francisco Bay. The body of her child had washed ashore about a mile away, after a possible "coffin birth." It was a sad closure to an exhaustive search, and a grim end to a marriage that by all accounts had appeared to be perfect.

2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

By
deborah
on
01-21-18

Above Suspicion

By:
Joe Sharkey

Narrated by:
Marc Cashman

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
413

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
385

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
381

A personal look at a crime of passion describes an FBI agent's successful career, family life, and extramarital affair that ended in murder, and the guilt that drove him to confess in spite of his impenetrable government shield. In a true story of crime, guilt, and conscience, a model agent's illicit involvement with an informant leads him to commit a crime that reveals all the workings of the human heart - and the dark side of the FBI.

4 out of 5 stars

Excellent journalism

By
6catz
on
02-01-17

The Surgeon's Wife

A True Story of Obsession, Rage, and Murder

By:
Kieran Crowley

Narrated by:
Danny Campbell

Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
76

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
66

Story

4 out of 5 stars
65

In the summer of 1985, in his exclusive Upper East Side Manhattan apartment, Robert Bierenbaum, a prominent surgeon and certified genius, strangled his wife Gail to death. He then drove her body to an airstrip in Caldwell, N.J., and dumped it into the Atlantic Ocean from a single-engine private plane. The next day he reported her missing.

5 out of 5 stars

Well Written

By
Susan
on
12-21-17

Bad Blood: The Shocking True Story Behind the Menendez Killings

By:
Don Davis

Narrated by:
Adam Verner

Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4 out of 5 stars
61

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
56

Story

4 out of 5 stars
55

They were golden boys who killed with sudden savagery. The trial revealed a dark drama too evil to believe. Handsome, rich, bronzed champion athletes, Erik and Lyle Menendez were the stunning symbols of the California dream. The sons of a high-powered Hollywood executive and his beautiful wife, they lived in a pampered world of Beverly Hills mansions, swimming pools, and private tennis coaches. But the dream became a nightmare when police found the butchered bodies of the boys' parents, Jose and Kitty, in the family room of their five-million dollar mansion.

4 out of 5 stars

Not bad, but ends before the second trial<br />

By
Amazon Customer
on
12-06-17

Son

By:
Jack Olsen

Narrated by:
Kevin Pierce

Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,608

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,460

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,459

Recounts the tragic events that followed the arrest of Fred Coe, a conservative, clean-cut young man, for a series of rapes committed in the city of Spokane and led to revenge and murder.

5 out of 5 stars

Psychopathy Born or Made?

By
Michael
on
04-29-15

My Sweet Angel

The True Story of Lacey Spears, the Seemingly Perfect Mother Who Murdered Her Son in Cold Blood

By:
John Glatt

Narrated by:
Shaun Grindell

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
176

Performance

4 out of 5 stars
157

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
158

Lacey Spears made international headlines in January 2015, when she was charged with the "depraved mind" murder of her five-year-old son, Garnett. Prosecutors alleged that the 27-year-old mother had poisoned him with high concentrations of salt through his stomach tube. To the outside world, Lacey had seemed like the perfect mother, regularly posting dramatic updates on her son's harrowing medical problems. But in reality, Lacey was a textbook case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.

5 out of 5 stars

The true story of a monster "mother"

By
Michelle in New York City
on
10-24-16

Salt of the Earth

By:
Jack Olsen

Narrated by:
Kevin Pierce

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Unabridged

Overall

4.5 out of 5 stars
489

Performance

4.5 out of 5 stars
451

Story

4.5 out of 5 stars
447

Joe Gere said he died on the afternoon his 12-year-old daughter Brenda disappeared. It was left to Brenda's mother Elaine to sustain her stricken family, search for her missing child, and pressure the authorities for justice. From the first minutes of the investigation, suspicion fell on Michael Kay Green, a steroid-abusing "Mr. Universe" hopeful, but there was no proof of a crime, leaving police and prosecutors stymied. Tips and sightings poured in as lawmen and volunteers combed the Cascades forest.

5 out of 5 stars

You are the proverbial 'fly on the wall' ...

By
IndyMcDuff
on
08-11-16

Publisher's Summary

On January 19, 2000, a fire raged through the freshman dormitory at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, killing three students and injuring 58 others. Among the victims were Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos, roommates from poor neighborhoods who made their families proud by getting into college. They managed to escape the fire, but both were burned terribly.

After the Fire is the story of these young men and their fight to recover from the worst injuries the Saint Barnabas Hospital burn unit had ever seen. It is the story of the extraordinary doctors and nurses who work with the burned, of the mothers and fathers, of faith and family, of the women who came to love these men, and of the invisible ties that bind us to one another.

Story

Incredibly Inspirational

Where does After the Fire rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This falls easily on the top 10. Belonging to a book club, I have listened to a wide range of titles from all different genres, but there is something about a True Story, that always gets to me. If you are a fan of watching documentaries or

What other book might you compare After the Fire to and why?

Not really similar, but compared to what I have listened to, I would say

Have you listened to any of Paul Michael Garcia’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this is the first one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Mixed emotions. Narrated extremely well, which brings you through a roller-coaster as you become wrapped into the lives of Shawn Simons and Alvaro Llanos.

Very Touching

Reading the story was very touching with great delivery.
Alvaro is my cousin and I experienced the feeling as it happen. I can't believe how the years passed so fast. I'm greatful he is with us until this day and living happily married with two children.

Outstanding!!!

I don't usually read or listen to books that are based on true events. I'm glad I did. From the beginning all the way to the end, this book forces you to display every human emotion possible. This was a definite tear jerker for me. It's horrible what the human body can go through. This author definitely gets an A plus in my book and the narrator made it even better. I definitely recommend and I will purchase more from this author and narrator in the future!